Tag: Monday Night Football

2020 Texans schedule: Houston has 1 primetime game

The Houston Texans return to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1. See the rest of the 2020 Texans schedule.

The Houston Texans return to the scene of the crime in Week 1 as they face the Kansas City Chiefs Thursday, Sept. 10 at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs overcame a 24-0 deficit and knocked off the wild-card-winning Texans 51-31 en route to a victory in Super Bowl LIV.

However, this is the only primtime game on the Texans’ slate. The Texans go home in Week 2 to host the Baltimore Ravens at NRG Stadium for a 3:25 p.m. kickoff, and then it is early games the rest of the way.

The Texans could get a second primetime game. In Week 15, the Texans-Colts game has yet to be decided, kind of like the Tampa Bay game from Week 16 last season. It could be part of tripleheader action on NFL Network.

 

Complete 2020 Regular Season Schedule

Week Opponent Date/Time (CT) Network
1 @Kansas City 7:15 pm NBC
2 BALTIMORE 3:25 pm CBS
3 @Pittsburgh 12:00 pm CBS
4 MINNESOTA 12:00 pm FOX
5 JACKSONVILLE 12:00 pm CBS
6 @Tennessee 12:00 pm CBS
7 GREEN BAY 12:00 pm FOX
8 BYE BYE BYE
9 @Jacksonville 12:00 pm CBS
10 @Cleveland 12:00 pm CBS
11 NEW ENGLAND 12:00 pm CBS
12 @Detroit 11:30 am CBS
13 INDIANAPOLIS 12:00 pm CBS
14 @Chicago 12:00 pm CBS
15 @Indianapolis TBD TBD
16 CINCINNATI 12:00 pm CBS
17 TENNESSEE 12:00 pm CBS

 

Report: Saints opening 2020 season vs. Buccaneers, visiting Raiders on MNF

The New Orleans Saints will host Tom Brady and the new-look Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their home opener for the 2020 NFL season, per a report.

The NFL is set to release its schedule of games for the 2020 season at 7 p.m. CT on Thursday night, but reports are already filtering in concerning when the New Orleans Saints will be playing this year. Nothing is official until the team itself reveals its slate of games, so don’t finalize your travel plans just yet.

Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football got the scoop on the first few weeks of the 2020 Saints schedule, which begins with an afternoon home opener against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 13. Underhill adds that the Saints and Buccaneers will get a rematch on Sunday Night Football on Nov. 8.

Additionally, Underhill reports that the Saints are scheduled for two Monday Night Football games: in Week 2 at the Las Vegas Raiders, and again in Week 5 versus the Los Angeles Chargers. The Green Bay Packers will visit New Orleans in Week 3, while the San Francisco 49ers will grace the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in Week 10.

Stay tuned for updates as more reports come to light throughout the day. But if things follow this early track, this year’s Saints schedule is looking to be as exciting as advertised.

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Kansas City Chiefs could open 2020 NFL season on ‘Monday Night Football’

A potential teaser of an unprecedented Week 1 change impacting the Kansas City Chiefs.

Everything about the 2020 NFL offseason so far has been unprecedented and it appears there could be even more uncharted territory ahead related to the NFL schedule. Could the Kansas City Chiefs be the last team to play on the opening week with an appearance on “Monday Night Football” in primetime?

The voice of the Chiefs, Mitch Holthus, took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to tease the Chiefs’ upcoming schedule reveal show. He also provided us with a little teaser related to the schedule.

“Unprecedented (at least since 2002) move coming,” Holthus wrote. “Regardless — some form and substance coming with information for Chiefs Kingdom.”

Flashback to the 2002 NFL season and it was full of unprecedented moments. It was an expansion year, with the Houston Texans becoming the NFL’s 32nd franchise. The Chicago Bears played at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois as Soldier Field underwent renovations. Related to the NFL’s schedule in 2002, only one thing stands out as unprecedented. The Super Bowl champion New England Patriots opened up the season playing on “Monday Night Football” against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Typically, the defending Super Bowl champions have opened the NFL season as the first team to play on Thursday night. They get a chance to defend their title and hold a banner ceremony for fans. 2002 was one of the only exceptions where the defending champions didn’t open the season on “Thursday Night Football.”

Now if you’ll recall, back in early March the Kansas City Royals announced a change to their schedule to potentially accommodate the NFL’s season opener which we know is coming on Thursday, September 10. Everyone assumed that it was written in stone that the Chiefs would open the season on that date. I’m wondering if the coronavirus pandemic might have thrown a wrench into those plans.

The Chiefs Kingdom has waited 50 years to get an opportunity to see their team raise a banner at Arrowhead Stadium declaring the team world champions. The later that game takes place, the more likely it’ll be that at least some fans will be allowed inside the stadium to witness that moment.

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ESPN reportedly considered idea of moving Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler to Monday Night Football

Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler are two voices of college football. ESPN has reportedly considered moving the duo to Monday Night Football.

Former Ohio State quarterback and alum Kirk Herbstreit has been one of the main voices of college football for more years than we can probably count. He and partner Chris Fowler make up the A team of ESPN’s college football broadcasts, often doing the biggest game of the week.

And while that seems like a ratings gold tandem you wouldn’t want to mess with, according to a report from the New York Post, the worldwide leader in sports programming has at least considered the idea of moving the dynamic duo to Monday Night Football on the NFL side.

It all comes amid rumors and speculation that the current Monday Night crew of Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland may be on the verge of being asked to move on. The duo has been sharply criticized and the natives appear to be getting restless to try and create the magic in the booth when broadcasters like Al Michaels and Frank Gifford were a part of the crew.

Moving the beloved pairing of Herbstreit and Fowler to Monday nights might be seen as a boost to the longstanding and historic NFL broadcast, but it would make a lot of college football fanatics very unhappy.

This is probably just all a part of things that bounce around in corporate executives heads, but something to keep an eye on nonetheless. It would definitely feel weird without Fowler or Herbstreit in the booth for a big, night game in college football when it all resumes.

Report: ESPN eyes Brees, mulls switching MNF booth in 2020

Drew Brees is in the sights of ESPN and other networks once the Saints’ quarterback calls it quits.

There is plenty of work to be done if ESPN is going to fix its Monday Night Football booth. The team of Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland have been brutally criticized in their two seasons, Now a report from Andrew Marchand in the New York Post suggests the sports network could move to a different combination for 2020.

While the Post confirmed an Outkickthecoverage.com report ESPN is going after Saints quarterback Drew Brees when he retires, which is supposed to happen after 2020, it adds NBC is after Brees, too.

In the meantime, Steve Levy, Louis Riddick and Dan Orlovsky have emerged as top candidates for next season’s Monday Night Football booth.

First Brees:

Brees won’t get what is now known as “Romo money,” though ESPN is offering closer to the $6.5 million neighborhood that Jon Gruden lived in during his final seasons on MNF, according to sources. That would be nearly twice the average of Romo’s rookie contract, and in the zipcode of the around $7 million Troy Aikman receives from FOX.

As for MNF:

Tessitore and McFarland have not yet been informed that they will not be back, though, they both know ESPN has been looking for replacements. … ESPN has not settled on the team of Levy, Riddick and/or Orlovsky. The network might be wise to keep it simple and go with a two-man booth. It should be clear, they do not have the job yet, as there are other options.

When to get watch some of the NFL’s greatest games on ESPN and FOX during the pandemic

ESPN and FOX will fill their prime-time programming with some of the NFL’s greatest games.

Stuck inside? No live sports on TV? There are 657 channels now with nothing on? ESPN and FOX are coming to the rescue of football fans by replaying some of the NFL’s greatest games. Here’s the schedule:

ESPN

March 30: Chiefs at Rams from 2018

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

8 p.m., ESPN (ET)

The Rams defeated the Chiefs 54-51 in the highest-scoring game in MNF history as Patrick Mahomes set a MNF record with six touchdown passes. Originally scheduled for Mexico City, the game was played at the LA Coliseum – the first Monday night game in Los Angeles since 1985.

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Report: Peyton Manning turns down ESPN’s offer to join ‘Monday Night Football’

ESPN wanted Peyton Manning to join its ‘Monday Night Football’ broadcast crew but the ex-quarterback turned the network down.

Peyton Manning has turned down ESPN’s offer to serve as a commentator on Monday Night Football, according to a report from The New York Post‘s Andrew Marchand. It’s uncertain how much the network would be willing to offer Manning but it would probably be similar to the deal Tony Romo received from CBS ($18 million per season).

Manning, four years into his retirement, is not yet ready to “commit to the weekly schedule” of calling NFL games, according to Marchand.

Manning already has a working relationship with ESPN, hosting two shows — Detail and Peyton’s Places — on ESPN Plus, a streaming service. The former NFL quarterback apparently isn’t ready to take on a larger role.

ESPN has now failed to land Romo, Manning and current quarterbacks Drew Brees and Philip Rivers, who opted to continue playing instead of retiring. As of now, Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland are still under contract with ESPN to call MNF games this fall.

ESPN clearly wants to make changes to the MNF crew so the network will likely continue searching for a big-name candidate.

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Report: Peyton Manning turns down ESPN’S Monday Night Football pitch

Peyton Manning won’t be stepping into the Monday Night Football booth for ESPN, per a New York Post report.

No Tony Romo, no Al Michaels. Now, no Peyton Manning, according to a New York Post report, for Monday Night Football.

Andrew Marchand of The Post reported Monday the former Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos quarterback has rebuffed an offer from ESPN to step into the MNF booth as an analyst.

Sources say the overriding factor was whether Manning finally wanted to enter the broadcast booth and commit to the weekly schedule in the fall. The answer remains no.

Manning has declined to be an MNF analyst on multiple occasions, turning down basically every network since he retired from the NFL in 2016.

ESPN and Manning’s broadcast agent, Sandy Montag, declined comment.

Where does that leave ESPN? Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland have been heavily criticized in their two seasons on MNF. The network has not said whether that team will return.

The report indicated the coronavirus pandemic could stall any change for a year. If that happens, CBS/TNT/YES’ Ian Eagle and Fox’s Kevin Burkhardt could come into the picture as play-by-play voices.

ESPN has discussed a team of Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick as a possibility. The trio called the second half of the Monday Night doubleheader last year. Levy and Griese currently do college games together.

What are the odds of Peyton Manning joining ‘Monday Night Football’?

Oddsmakers think Peyton Manning’s future is a tossup.

After watching CBS secure Tony Romo for a deal worth around $17 million per year, ESPN is willing to pay handsomely for Peyton Manning’s services.

The Disney-owned network is willing to pay Manning $18 million to $20 million per season to serve as a commentator for Monday Night Football games. That’s more than Manning averaged during his career as a quarterback in the NFL — will it be enough to lure him into the broadcast booth?

Oddsmakers at SportsBetting.ag believe it’s a tossup.

The odds of Manning joining MNF (-120) are the same as the odds of him not joining (-120). In both cases, fans putting $100 on Manning’s future would win $83.30 if the ex-QB makes the decision they predicted.

Oddsmakers have also set an over/under of what Manning would be paid by ESPN at $19.5 million.

Manning already has a working relationship with ESPN — he has hosted two different shows — Detail and Peyton’s Places — on ESPN Plus, a streaming service. He retired from the NFL after winning Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos following the 2015 season.

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NBC keeps grip on Al Michaels, denies ESPN’s trade request

Sad news for ESPN this week as the sports network will not be getting its “dream booth” of Al Michaels and Peyton Manning.

Sad news for ESPN this week as the sports network will not be getting its “dream booth” of Al Michaels and Peyton Manning.